Appalachian Gathering 2012: Bam Bam RIP

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going?

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going? The consensus was for the White Mountain National Forest (in the Northeast), or the Appalachian states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia. Spring Council selected a site in North Eastern Tennessee.

If you're not familiar with the gauntlet on the road into the gathering, and want to avoid a mandatory court appearance ticket click here.

For the Howdy Folks and directions to the gathering, click here. For the United States Forest Service Incident Command website with groovy maps and updates, click here.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Bam Bam RIP

The infamous Bam Bam is now silent, but his energy still ripples through all of us. I first got to know Bam Bam during the mid-nineties when SCROLL was focalizing gatherings in the Southeastern deserts of California. Just thinking of a beautiful evening at a SCROLL regional in the desert in the 1990s. Full moon and drums pounding and Bam Bam taking center stage. Dancing my ass off. Thank you.

Bam Bam took his life at the end of September.

Words from Mama Turtle:

I guess he was just ready to leave this world.
He was never really comfortable here. Too much sorrow and insanity for him to stomach.
He was a real sensitive spirit and he tried many ways to deal with it.
Well, now he's happy. He can finally get some rest and truly be celebrating the Great Spirit
all the time now, which is what he wanted for all people.
I'm torn up, broken hearted and a general mess right now.
I would love to hear any exceptional stories (which would probably be most of them) about Bam
and any pictures would be appreciated.
We will be having a memorial service in CA, probably near Santa Cruz for him at the end of Oct.
as we all have to fly in and plan the thing. Plus, he's being cremated, so it can wait.
He left a note pinned to his shirt and I know Bam would want me to tell you all that
at the end of the note he wrote this,
"P.S. Hang Loose!"

Short video Clip of Bam Bam Drumming

Memorial Services

The memorial for Bam Bam is at the Center For Conscious Living on 1818 Felt St. in Live Oak, (a suburb of Santa Cruz, CA) 2pm, Sunday Oct 30th. The center is directly on the bus line. Send Mama Turtle a note if you need specific help with that info. It's gonna be a potluck so please bring something. There will be a sprinkling of Bam's ashes at Greyhound Rock on Tuesday, Nov 1st, probably around 2pm. After which we will make music, dance, sing, get real high and generally rejoice! We will be focalizing a shuttle to Greyhound Rock for those of you who need help getting there. Again, send me a note if you do. Try and RSVP me so that we can properly estimate chairs and food. Please also bring a potluck dish to share! Love you all and see you there. Mama Turtle

If you FB, here's a memorial page.

7 comments:

piety pietOctober 11, 2011 at 5:49 AM
Re: "'Short video Clip of Bam Bam Drumming"

the first 11 seconds of 9 minutes in the greatful dead show parking lot 93 Sacto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWwnY72H26g
165thou views since 06
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AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 10:45 AM
With heartfelt sorrow,i hope to be there.....roadrunner&bingo
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Produce SHAREOctober 11, 2011 at 1:31 PM
Great words, Mama Turtle!

Karin, I like yours too " his energy still ripples through all of us."

Hugz and compost to everybelly seeing this. See you in the 'Cruz RSVP for 1

anyone need ride from San Jose to Santa Cruz?

Roy the third
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AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 6:52 PM
Hey Now

Hears to a great Rainbow Brother who was always a good friend may he always ride the Rainbow.

Peace&Love
AllWays
El Pearl

P.S. Anyone headed to SC from Humboldt call me at 707-845-1503
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AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 11:27 AM
I have never had the pleasure of meeting this man, But I do beleive he and I would have been good friends. I wish to attend not only to pay my respects but as well to come in to contact with the Rainbow family. My name is Addison, I am in Fullerton, California. If there is anyone who I could get a ride with or meet in another city closer to get a ride, I would much appreciate it. My E-mail is { torchwing777@live.com } Please R.S.V.P
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AnonymousOctober 27, 2011 at 8:08 PM
Ill miss My brother...... Many memories,,, "Skybear",, santa cruz
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AnonymousDecember 20, 2011 at 4:21 AM
bam bam my brother who taught me to drum for the light, when i was a young warrior..thank you for sharing your wisdom and love..i will drum with you now forever....brother chance
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Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket
Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.